OUR vision of creating an International Centre for Technology in the Isle of Man is closer becoming a reality.

That was the message from those behind the Manx Educational Foundation as they outlined progress made so far in developing an island centre for IT excellence. based at the former Castle Mona hotel.

Under the proposals, the historical seafront Castle Mona, which has been empty since it closed five years ago, will become a university providing degree-qualified students for the island’s IT sector and related industries.

The Manx government has provisionally agreed to underwrite the project to the tune of £5 million over the 10 year period of the proposed lease.

The award winning poet Rhian Edwards has just taken up her post at the first-ever writer in residence at the Aberystwyth Arts Centre.

The three month residency will see her immersed in the daily hustle and bustle of the venue, looking in on many creative workshops, as well as acting as spectator to some of the varied exhibitions and shows they have on offer.

Her appointment is part of a project supported by Literature Wales, HAUL and Aberystwyth University’s School of English and Creative Writing.

DESPITE emigration, the population of the Republic of Ireland is increasing. Since 2008, the population rose from 4.43m people to 4.5m in 2012.

Movements of population are faster and easier than before.

For the thousands who leave these shores every year, thousands of people from other countries stay or arrive, with the reverse outlook to the people who have left.

Frenchman Jean-Louis Bigot came to Ireland in 1989.

He lives in the scenic town of Killaloe, Co Clare, with his Skerries-born wife, Elaine, and their three children.

“I trained as a gamekeeper, basically,” says Jean-Louis. “But I was in an indoors job and, after about seven years, I started looking towards going to Ireland or Canada, because I’d been selling holidays from that office in France.”

Jean-Louis’ work has ‘three hats’: He’s a fishing guide; he has an approved guest-house where anglers from France stay during their fishing holidays; and he is a tour operator organising bespoke holidays to Ireland.

It might be something of a generalization but, from the early days of the princes, the Welsh have always enjoyed poetry and revered their bards. To be a poet at the court of the king or prince was a position that held honour, prestige and more than a little degree of glamour.

In the halls of the kings of Deheubarth, Powys and the rest there was a clear order of precedence for these poets and ballad singers.

At the top of the tree sat the Pencerdd, the chief poet or singer, who occupied an honoured and much-coveted position at the top table. He sang of the glory of the king and his prowess as a ruler – an oral tradition, of course, as little or nothing was ever written down.

Below the Pencerdd came the Bardd Teulu who, as well as having the duty of entertaining the queen in her private quarters, was also the poet of the ruler's war band. His role was clearly mapped out in the Laws of Hywel Dda.

St Patricks Day is a celebration almost everywhere in the world, except, you guessed it, Northern Ireland. Each year we are entertained to our usual dour cold war over symbols and identities at least we're not burning down Orange Halls, like the Scots - Ed » .

In Downpatrick Unionists are complaining that the festivities are being held on, erm, St Patricks Day, because it’s a Sunday. Well, I know yesterday was a bank holiday and it wouldn’t take much to agree to have it on the day we actually get off, but, well, its our whinge day.

Tory Island, one of the most remote islands in Europe, contains some of the most spectacular landscapes, rugged beauty and breathtaking scenery imaginable. Set nine miles off the north-west coast of Ireland near County Donegal, this isolated crag is just two and half miles long and three quarters of a mile wide. The hardworking and friendly inhabitants of Tory’s enjoy a way of life similar to what their ancestors had hundreds of years ago.

Tough Winters, Beautiful Summers
The spectacular cliff scenery and rich and varied history makes it easy to see why the islanders endure the ferocious North Atlantic Winters, so they can enjoy the warm and wonderful summers. According to folklore passed down through the centuries, the Island has been used as a retreat for monks, visited by 6th century missionary Colm Cille, seen major shipwrecks and been a haven for smugglers at various times.

Condemned as a dead language, Manx - the native language of the Isle of Man - is staging an extraordinary renaissance, writes Rob Crossan.

Road signs, radio shows, mobile phone apps, novels - take a drive around the Isle of Man today and the local language is prominent.

But just 50 years ago Manx seemed to be on the point of extinction.

"If you spoke Manx in a pub on the island in the 1960s, it was considered provocative and you were likely to find yourself in a brawl," recalls Brian Stowell, a 76-year-old islander who has penned a Manx-language novel, The Vampire Murders, and presents a radio show on Manx Radio promoting the language every Sunday.